The Riddle of the Sphinx

Based on Buddhist ideas, this is a deeply philosophical novel that I found rather too intelligent for its own good. The narrative style is unusual in that it diverges in the three narratives, showing different paths that the characters could have taken, which can be a little confusing. All of the narratives are concerning men struggling with homosexuality but I though the author's approach was reminiscent of the kind of morality type novels where the reader is warned that relationships of this kind can only come to a bad or unhappy end! Certainly the relationships are described in the most unerotic ways and skimmed over as much as possible. I found myself getting frustrated by all the padding - too many characters, lack of focus on plot and characters. I think there are much better litfic books out there which are more readable and less likely to make you feel dense and unsatisfied by the end!